Led airdrops shower leaflets over Islamic State territory

The market is unrecognizable after the attack and several buildings are still collapsing hours after the attack.

Authorities report the death toll may still rise as rescue crews continue to retrieve bodies from the debris.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has arrested 431 people suspected of belonging to Islamic State cells and thwarted attacks on mosques, security forces and a diplomatic mission, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

The extremist group, which swept to power across large swathes of Iraq and Syria previous year, depicts itself as a defender of the world’s Sunni Muslims.

ISIL has claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to messages posted on Twitter.

Last Monday, he replaced his defence chiefs as part of an attempt to step up the campaign against the group. “We are guilty of being Shia”, Saleh said. “This is the primary day of Eid, lots of of individuals received killed, many injured, and we’re nonetheless looking for extra our bodies”.

Iraqis were still counting the dead and searching for dozens presumed missing in the aftermath of Friday’s powerful blast which struck a marketplace in Diyala, in the east of the country.

BEIRUT (AP) — A U.S.-led coalition dropped new leaflets over the de facto capital of the Islamic State group in Syria, promising those below that “freedom will come” to the region, activists said Sunday.

The top official in Khan Bani Saad, the predominantly Shiite town 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Baghdad where the attack occurred yesterday, put the number of wounded at 120.

They coordinated their strike with the end of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month, that evening for Shiite Muslims.

Diyala, which borders Iran, is the only province in Iraq where Iranian jets are known to have conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State group earlier this year.

“The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to work with Prime Minister al-Abadi and our partners in Iraq and the global community to bring an end to ISIL’s depravity”, he said.

Dempsey, who served in Iraq as a commander for two tours, said officials inside the Iraqi government had an “internal debate” about which forces should take the lead and which city held by the jihadists should be targeted first.

ISIS no longer has fixed positions in the province but has reverted to its old tactics of planting vehicle bombs and carrying out suicide operations.